5/17/12 Those bratty pot smokers wonder why no one offers them any respect. I don't wonder. At a screening tonight of Code of the West, a documentary film about our infamous Montana fight over medical marijuana that took place during the legislative session in winter/spring of 2011, the boos and ughs and disgusted sighs during the panel discussion show the immaturity that plagues the marijuana movement in general. And this is from someone who wholeheartedly supports legalization or at the very least, decriminalization of pot.
Even the right wing wackos have a right to voice their opinions without the derisive jeers from the audience. Whether they're really that dumb or just too stoned to realize that the bad behavior hurts their cause, I haven't decided. The old adage if you can't beat 'em, join 'em would be well served if they dressed nicer, combed their long, straggly locks and yielded the floor when another was speaking.
I've always hoped my decent, non-stoner presence could serve as a force for good; to be part of the pro-legalization crowd and yet show we're not all loser, stoner dudes. However, tonight, for the first time, I guess I was embarrassed to be in an audience that would jeer and boo.
It just gives the conservative, right wingers comfort to view what they see as a wide gulf between them and their opponents on the legalization front. If the right wingers can articulate their absurd, illogical views with a calm voice and a straight face, why can't the subversives do the same? Since the army of individuals against the War on Drugs has arguments that hold so much more water, it seems counterproductive to me to get down and slather around in the muck. It's hard to imagine you'll be taken seriously, even if you are the voice of reason.
